Performance and healing are opposite facets of the same fitness coin. They are indelibly related. The more you carry out, the more you want to get better. The better you get better, the better you’ll carry out. And so it is going in a virtuous cycle. Lately, there has been a massive emphasis on the recovery side of the health equation. Sure, you need to consume the right foods and get sufficient relaxation. But are there other ways—different methods, products, technology—to accelerate recovery and gain a performance side? The answer is yes. Here are five of them.
1. AMP Human PR Lotion ($35)
What if there was a way for athletes to mitigate lactic acid buildup in their muscles and delay the onset of fatigue? They’d be able to cross more difficult for longer, and they would recover faster because there would not be as many acids to flush out of their gadget. It might be a small miracle, in particular for persistent athletes. Well, that is exactly what PR Lotion from AMP Human does. This startup agency was spun out of a biotech firm that developed a generation to deliver pharmaceutical payloads without delay through the pores and skin. Instead of drugs, though, PR Lotion provides sodium bicarbonate (bicarb). This is proven to decorate overall performance while taken orally but with the unfortunate facet outcomes of diarrhea and/or vomiting. The AMP Human generation is a stop run around the digestive gadget. The lotion-based totally bicarb absorbs directly to the muscle tissues that need its maximum e.G the legs for cyclists, skiers, runners, etc. You use it on key muscle organizations before exercise, and it takes impact almost at once. The product is used and endorsed via a number of the top pro athletes and groups inside the global such as 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas, World Champion XC mountain biker Kate Courtney and among the pinnacle NFL groups. What’s so compelling is that, in keeping with AMP Human, these athletes and teams had already been using the product (as it works) and handiest signed endorsement relationships. At the same time, the agency contacted them after the fact.
2. GU Energy Recovery Drink Mix ($36)
As your body shifts from performance to recovery mode, it’s essential to present it with the nourishment it desires. The active components in GU Energy’s Recovery Drink Mix encompass whey protein isolate, dextrose, sodium, and the amino acids arginine and glutamine. It’s an effective cocktail of glycogen replenishment and muscle restoration. It can be mixed with plain water, but I find that a smoothie is a more palatable way to drink it. My desired recipe is almond milk, almond butter, banana, blueberries, ice, and the chocolate recuperation mix.
3. NormaTec Pulse Recovery System ($1,495)
The hazard of robots taking our jobs is real. Factor case: those pneumatic compression sleeves do the activity of a publish-workout massage therapist. The primary principle is to stimulate blood glide inside and out of the legs (and different muscle agencies) such that the muscle tissue can recover extra fast. The periods close anywhere from 10 to forty-five minutes and characteristic an intensity variety that may be decided on via the user. The preliminary pre-inflation section molds the sleeves to the legs. It then compresses and kneads the muscle mass in four zones from theft to the calves, decrease thighs and upper thighs. This is going thru successive cycles in line with the duration and depth of the consultation. It’s critical to word that some of those structures are on the market, but only the NormaTec capabilities a patented pulse rubdown sample, which is superior to just squeezing the muscle groups. The technology is backed by technology, and it’s used by pro cycling teams, inclusive of Rally UHC Cycling. Nevertheless, the “message” you get from compression sleeves isn’t quite like that of a rub-down therapist, as it does not cross deep into the muscle groups. So their jobs are safe for now. Or are they? Keep studying…
4. Theragun G3 Pro ($599)
It looks as if some power device from your garage it’s been changed with a rubber ball. In fact, the latest Theragun—the brand new G3 Pro version, which becomes released in January—is a fast-recuperation weapon. If the NormaTec gadget (above) is a system gun, that is a sniper. It’s known as a percussive remedy. It combines an effective electric-powered motor that runs at 2, four hundred RPMs with a spread of rubber attachments to offer deep muscle comfort and recovery. The unit feels really heavy, which is by way of design. When you are working out the quadriceps from a seated function, as an example, you don’t press it into the muscle groups. The Theragun floats on top of your legs with its weight offering just enough stress. You must guide it up and down the muscle institution. The shaft can be rotated to reach different muscle tissue at a couple of angles. An accomplice cell app offers you techniques for each foremost muscle group. The package consists of a spare battery, battery charger, journey case, and choice of attachments designed for all muscle businesses.
5. WHOOP Fitness Membership ($18/mo)
Any statistics scientist will let you know that raw records are useless. But when the information tells a tale, it will become facts. It turns into treasured, actionable. It turns into gold. That’s what the WHOOP platform is mining and refining. It starts with the WHOOP Strap 2.0, which is a health tracker worn at the wrist. Five sensors measure heart fee (HR), coronary heart charge variability (HRV), ambient temperature, and movement for one hundred instances per 2d. The Strap is attached to the WHOOP mobile app thru Bluetooth, which captures all the facts and transmits them to the cloud for evaluation.
The output falls into three interconnected buckets: strain, recovery, and overall sleep performance. First, it measures how much stress you undergo on a given day using heart rate (common and most) as the proxy; this is represented on a 21-point scale. Next, it measures sleep overall performance based totally on general time asleep, time inside the person sleep stages (mild, REM, deep), a range of disturbances, and more. This is represented as a percent based totally on how plenty of sleep you wanted. Finally, the key stat is the restoration rating. Also measured on a percent basis, that is how nicely your frame has recovered from the day gone by’s stress and how ready it’s miles for the brand new day. The KPIs right here are resting heart charge (RHR) and HRV. A low RHR and high HRV indicate that your frame has recovered and is ready for high degrees of strain.
What’s precise about WHOOP, although, is that it makes clean pointers approximately how a great deal sleep you want and the way prepared your frame is for stress, whether that be jogging, biking, or going to the health club. It empowers you to make sensible choices about your fitness and recovery using facts to capture and analyze on a 24/7 foundation. This is truly the next era of the fitness tracker.
Note: I’ve integrated each of these healing methods into my everyday training routine. I’ll preserve to record how every one of these technologies performs for staying power cycling. My 2019 software will culminate via competing inside the annual Breck Epic mountain cycling degree race in Breckenridge, Colorado, August 11 – sixteen.